Cayor was from 1549 to 1876 the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Jolof Empire in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in northern and central Senegal, southeast of Waalo, west of the kingdom of Jolof, and north of Baol and the Kingdom of Sine.
Baol or Bawol was a kingdom in what is now central Senegal. Founded in the 11th century, it was a vassal of the Jolof Empire before becoming independent in the mid-16th century. The ruler bore the title of Teigne and reigned from the capital in Lambaye. The kingdom encompassed a strip of land extending east from the ocean and included the towns of Touba, Diourbel, and Mbacke. It was directly south of the Kingdom of Cayor and north of the Kingdom of Sine.
Damel was the title of the ruler of the Wolof kingdom of Cayor in what is now northwest Senegal, West Africa.
Lat Jor Ngoné Latir Jop was a nineteenth-century damel (king) of Cayor, a Wolof state that is today in Sénégal. He is today a national hero of Senegal for his resistance to French colonialism.
Mamadu Diakhou Bâ, also known as Maba Jahou Bah, Ma Ba Diakhu, Ma Ba Diakho Ba, Ma Ba Jaaxu, Mabba Jaxu Ba, was a Muslim leader in West Africa during the 19th century. He was a disciple of the Tijaniyya Sufi brotherhood and became the Almami of Saloum.
Maissa Bigué Ngoné Fall or Ma Isa Bige Ngone Fall was King of the Wolof Kingdom of Cayor, in what is now Senegal, during the 18th century. He reigned as Damel from 1748—1749 and again from 1756—1759.
The Kingdom of Sine was a post-classical Serer kingdom along the north bank of the Saloum River delta in modern Senegal. The inhabitants are called Siin-Siin or Sine-Sine.
The Kingdom of Jolof, also known as Wolof and Wollof, was a West African rump state located in what is today the nation of Senegal. For nearly two hundred years, the Wolof rulers of the Jolof Empire collected tribute from vassal kings' states who voluntarily agreed to the confederacy. At the 1549 Battle of Danki, however, the Buurba Jolof was defeated by the lord of Kayor, resulting in the rapid disintegration of the empire. Jolof survived as a rump state, unable to access the Atlantic trade between its former vassal territories and the Portuguese.
Maad a Signig Kumba Ndoffene Famak Joof was the King of Sine in modern-day Senegal. Maad a Sinig means king of Sine. He ruled from 1853 until his death on 23 August 1871. He was the son of Maad Souka Ndela Joof and Lingeer Gnilane Jogoy Joof. His father – Maad Souka Ndela came from The Royal House of Semou Njekeh Joof founded by Maad Semou Njekeh Joof in the early 18th century, which was the third and last Royal House of Joof family of Sine and Saloum. His paternal family ruled three Kingdoms : Sine, Kingdom of Saloum and previously the Kingdom of Baol. They descended from Maad Ndaah Njemeh Joof the 13th century King of Lâ (Laah) in Baol.
The Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune, also known as the Battle of Somb or the Battle of Somb-Tioutioune, occurred on 18 July 1867. It was a religious war between the Serer people and the Muslim Marabouts in 19th-century Senegal and the Gambia, but it also had a political and economic dimension to it: vendetta and empire-building. Fandane, Thiouthioune and Somb were part of the pre-colonial Serer Kingdom of Sine, now part of independent Senegal.
Joof or Diouf is a surname that is typically Serer. This surname is also spelt Juuf or Juf.
Teigne was a Serer title for the monarchs of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Baol, now part of present-day Senegal. The Kingdoms of Baol and Cayor became intricately linked especially post 1549 when the Faal family came to into prominence, and it was the same family that eventually ruled both Kingdoms with the exception of few interruptions, notably Lat Joor Ngoneh Latir Jobe who was of a different patrilineage.
This is a timeline of the history and development of Serer religion and the Serer people of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. This timeline merely gives an overview of their history, consisting of calibrated archaeological discoveries in Serer countries, Serer religion, politics, royalty, etc. Dates are given according to the Common Era. For a background to these events, see Roog, Serer religion, Serer creation myth, Serer prehistory, Lamane, States headed by Serer Lamanes, Serer history and Serer people.
Lingeer was the title given to the mother or sister of a king in the Serer kingdoms of Sine, Saloum, and previously the Kingdom of Baol; and the Wolof kingdoms of Cayor, Jolof, Baol and Waalo in pre-colonial Senegal. The word "Lingeer" means "queen" or "princess" in Serer and Wolof language. The Lingeer was considered the “great princess of royal courts.” These kingdoms utilized a bilineal system, as a candidate for kingship could not succeed to the throne if he was not a member of the reigning materlineage, and thus, the Lingeer's maternal lineage was highly significant. In similarity, a candidate could not succeed to the throne as king if he was not a member of the noble reigning patriclans. That was particular so among the Serer who retained much of their old culture, customs and traditional religion where women played a significant role compared to the Wolof who adopted Islam. Various Lingeers have been noted for their resistance efforts to colonial conquest.
The Royal House of Boureh Gnilane Joof was a royal house founded in the 14th century by Jaraff Boureh Gnilane Joof. He was a member the Serer tribe, from the pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine now part of independent Senegal. It was the first royal house founded by the Joof family during the Guelowar period. Boureh Gnilane Joof was a royal prince and a Jaraff, a Serer title of nobility with the powers of a prime minister. He was neither a Maad a Sinig nor a Maad Saloum but a royal prince who had the title Jaraff bestowed upon him by his cousin and brother-in-law - Maad a Sinig Diessanou Faye. His father Maad Patar Kholleh Joof was the king of Laa and Teigne of Baol. Boureh's brothers were the first from this house to have succeeded to the throne of Sine during the Guelowar period. His name was adopted in his honour to refer to the first royal house founded by the Joof family during this dynastic period. The Joof family of Sine, from this royal house also ruled in the Kingdom of Saloum The Joof family also ruled in Baol. From the date of its foundation up to the abolition of the Serer monarchies of Sine and Saloum in 1969, at least ten kings from this house had succeeded to the throne of Sine. As the first royal house of Sine founded by the Joof family in this dynastic period, the Royal House of Boureh Gnilane Joof holds great significance in Senegambian, Joof family and Serer history, because all the subsequent royal houses founded by the Joof family branched out from this royal house.
Serer maternal clans or Serer matriclans are the maternal clans of the Serer people of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. The Serer are both patrilineal and matrilineal. Inheritance depends on the nature of the asset being inherited – i.e. whether it is a maternal asset which requires maternal inheritance or paternal asset requiring paternal inheritance (kucarla). The Serer woman play a vital role in royal and religious affairs. In pre-colonial times until the abolition of their monarchies, a Serer king would be required to crown his mother, maternal aunt or sister as Lingeer (queen) after his own coronation. This re-affirms the maternal lineage to which they both belong (Tim). The Lingeer was very powerful and had her own army and palace. She was the queen of all women and presided over female cases. From a religious perspective, the Serer woman plays a vital role in Serer religion. As members of the Serer priestly class, they are among the guardians of Serer religion, sciences, ethics and culture. There are several Serer matriclans; not all of them are listed here. Alliance between matriclans in order to achieve a common goal was, and still is very common. The same clan can be called a different name depending on which part of Serer country one finds oneself in. Some of these matriclans form part of Serer mythology and dynastic history. The mythology afforded to some of these clans draws parallels with the Serer creation narrative, which posits that: the first human to be created was a female. Many Serers who adhere to the tenets of Serer religion believe these narratives to contain profound truths which are historic or pre-historic in nature.
Lingeer Ngoné Dièye was a Lingeer from the Serer Kingdom of Saloum, and ancestor of the Guedj maternal dynasty of Cayor and Baol. She was the wife of the 17th century Senegalese noble and Teigne Thié Yasin Demba Noudj Fall, and mother of Damel—Teigne Lat Soukabé Ngoné Fall who ruled Cayor and Baol from 1697 to 1719, the first Guedj to do so, after overthrowing the reigning maternal dynasty and installing his mother's matriclan. In usurping the throne, he committed fratricide by killing his paternal half-brother and took his throne.
Amary Ngoné Sobel Fall – was the second Damel of the independent Kingdom of Cayor in modern-day Senegal. He was responsible for breaking Cayor's vassalage under the Jolof Empire at the battle of Danki in 1549, and reigned until 1593.
The Battle of Danki was a conflict fought in 1549 between the Jolof Empire and Cayor, a rebellious vassal. The decisive Aajor victory and the death of the reigning Buurba of the empire signaled the end of Jolof hegemony over Cayor, Baol, Saloum, Sine, Wuli, Niani, and Waalo.
The Ceddo, also spelled Cedo, Tieddo, or Tyeddo, were a class of warrior-slaves in pre-colonial Senegambian societies, particularly Jolof, Cayor, Baol and Waalo. Up until the mid 19th century, they were a powerful political and social group closely aligned with the traditional monarchs of the region against the rise of Islam and colonialism. In modern-day Senegal the word retains negative connotations, and can describe the societies in which the ceddo operated or the followers of traditional African religions generally.
